Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle picked a host of young players in his preliminary list of players for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON) in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle has already submitted his list to the NFF but he is expected to trim it down from the 55 to a sizeable number before the commencement of camping for the tournament next month.

The coach showed faith in a lot of young players although not many are expected to make the final cut for the tournament. A chieftain of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) praised the coach for taking such a bold step which is crucial to rebuilding the team.

” When I saw the list with so many young players I was impressed. I really think it’s a bold step from a coach who has one eye on the future. I know a lot of them won’t make it to the tournament proper but it’s a step in the right direction in rebuilding the team”, he said.

Meanwhile he called on Nigerians to express patience over the public announcement of the list saying it will be published, when the coach gives the go ahead to make it public in the coming days.

Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Alebiosu is in danger of not making the Super Eagles squad for the Africa Cup of Nations as he is yet to be issued a Nigerian passport, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Born in England to parents of Nigerian descent, Alebiosu has already agreed to play for Nigeria at senior international level and can be immediately available for the AFCON as he hasn’t represented England at any level.

He has already held talks with head coach Eric Chelle, which informed his decision to start the process of acquiring a Nigerian passport in order to be available for the tournament in Morocco.

However sources say as at yesterday, the 23 year old is yet to submit his passport which means his name will be struck out and potentially replaced ahead of the start of camping on the 8th of December.

This season Alebiosu has excelled at right back for the English Championship side with one goal and assist in 16 games so far. He joined the club in the summer from Belgium side Kortrijk on an initial three-year contract with the option of an extra 12 months.

Nigeria international midfielder Uche Chrisantus is at a cross road in his career after failing to make headway at English Premier League side Crystal Palace, where he is on loan from Spanish side Getafe.

Chrisantus joined the team on loan with an obligation to buy after playing in 37 of Getafe’s 38 games last season in the LaLiga. He has however played a combined 8 minutes in the three games he has played in the English Premier League for Crystal Palace.

The 22 year old is clearly not in the plans of head coach Oliver Glasner , and is seen as one player that the club will be willing to let go in January with another option in Newcastle United Joe Willock hot on the agenda.

However his situation is far from ideal and straightforward with a report in The Athletic detailing why he will likely spend the rest of the season on the bench with the English side, with a return back to Getafe almost impossible in January.

“Complicating what happens next with Uche is the financial element of the deal. Getafe were informed by La Liga in the summer that they had breached financial rules. As a result, they earmarked €20million (£17.6m) from the potential future sale of Uche to Palace”, the report reads.

“That satisfied the governing body and allowed them to register six new players in the transfer window. If his loan is terminated and he returns, it may present issues, although the club are relaxed about the situation.

“Due to his lack of minutes, several clubs in Germany have made initial enquiries to understand his situation with a view to bringing him in.

“However, should he leave Palace, he would be unable to play for another club, having already appeared for both Getafe and the Premier League side this season. FIFA rules forbid players from representing more than two teams in a single campaign”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international striker Ademola Lookman says he is focused on giving his best to Atalanta after his goal and assist in the UEFA Champions League 3-0 win over German side Eintracht Frankfurt, Owngoalnigeria.com reports.

The Nigerian opened the floodgates of goals for his team away to the Germans in the 60th minute and two minutes later he teed up Ederson for their second of the night.

Linked with a move to Turkish side Galatasaray in January, the 28 year old who went on strike in the summer in his bid to force a move to fellow Serie A side Inter Milan cleared the air on his future at the club.

After the win in Frankfurt, the Nigerian gave his opinion while reacting to questions on the team’s performance and his future at the club in the January transfer window.

Here are the Atalanta striker’s comments after the match:

“I think it’s important to win a match like this right now. 0-3 on this pitch wasn’t easy. Obviously, playing with Scamacca and Charles is very easy ; they’re quality players. We’ll continue to improve and work together as a team .”

He continued: “I think the coach’s message is clear: he wants us to play attacking and entertaining football. The DNA of pressing and of a team that fights to win the ball back is important. How difficult was it to rebuild relationships with teammates and the fans? What happened has happened. So many things are happening, some people know about, some less so. Now is the time when I have to work hard for the team and we have to win matches. I’m focused on that. We’re working to get these results . ”

Eric Chelle has taken a bold step to replace injured Benjamin Fredrick in his Super Eagles squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON) in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fredrick was confirmed out of the squad for the tournament after picking up a knock in training with his Belgium side FC Dender on Saturday. He will be out of action all through the duration of the tournament.

Chelle has taken a bold step to replace the 20 year old who started in all of the Super Eagles last six games with another young player, who is getting his first invitation to the team.

We exclusively gathered that the decision was wholly the decision of the coach, who has decided to keep his faith in young players owing to the success of Fredrick.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) backed his decision and will make public the preliminary list of players for the tournament later this week. The camp of the team will open on the 8th of December in Morocco.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has picked a replacement for FC Dender defender Benjamin Fredrick who will miss the Africa Cup of Nations due to injury, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fredrick picked up a knock in training upon his return from the Super Eagles ill fated world cup qualifiers playoff tournament in Morocco, he will now miss the AFCON which begins next month.

He will be out for at least two months, and Chelle who has started him in the last six games of the team has been forced into making a decision on his replacement, after naming him in his preliminary list of players for the tournament.

The 20 year old who is on loan from English Premier League side Brentford was billed to start at the tournament alongside Calvin Bassey in central defence. He has equally filled up at right back as well.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

CBS Golazo analyst Nico Cantor says Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen is way too good to be playing in the Turkish League for Galatasaray, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

He made it known while taking a look at their UEFA Champions League game against Belgium side USG, a game they eventually lost 0-1 with the Nigerian out injured.

Looking ahead to the game, former Watford striker Troy Deeney reckoned the Nigerian ranks among the best five strikers in the world, and he will be largely missed in the game .

” I’ve talked about him as top five strikers in world football. Yeah, you don’t have somebody like that. You can just pull off the bench or from the youth team”, he said before the game.

Cantor agreed with his take and went a step further to say the 26 year old is way too good to be playing in the Turkish League that even fans of Galatasaray have admitted to it.

“I look at Victor. Good to be playing a God, I said, and he’s too good for the Turkish Super League. These are the results that he is. He’s way too good to be playing there, and I think Galatasaray fans will even admit it themselves’, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

New Super Eagles defender Benjamin Fredrick won’t be available for selection for the Africa Cup of Nations next month after picking up a knee injury while in training with his Belgium side FC Dender, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Frederick picked up the injury in training upon his return from the world cup qualifiers playoff, where he played in all of the games for the Nigerian team, who were beaten to the ticket to represent Africa at the Intercontinental playoff by Dr Congo.

He is set to be out for 12 weeks according to reports, and already head coach Eric Chelle has made provision for his replacement in the team for the tournament, with the list said to be made public soon.

The 20 year old who is on loan from Brentford has stamped his feet in the back for the Nigerian team taking the spot of captain William Troost-Ekong.

As many as ten relatively unknown players made the Super Eagles preliminary list of 55 players for next month Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Head coach Eric Chelle is expected in Nigeria this week to meet with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) before reducing the number of players to at least 30, who are expected to be in the camp of the team when it opens on the 8th of December.

We can exclusively reveal that the coach has in his list some players who have not been previously invited to the team, and also handed a return to certain players who have been out of the team for a while.

A source who pleaded to stay anonymous in his bid to protect existing relationship gave us a list of ten of the relatively new players in the list submitted by Chelle, who has a mandate of reaching at least the final of the tournament.

If he meets the target, he will automatically get a two year contract extension, which will extend into the period of the next qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup after failing to make it to back to back tournament for the first time since 1994.

Our source listed the players below as names in the list, who haven’t been in the team before now.

Anthony Dennis ( Goztepe SK, Turkey)

David Moses ( Slavia Praque, Czech Republic)

Chibuike Nwaiwu ( Wolfsberger FC, Austria)

Rafiu Durosinmi ( Viktoria Plzen, Czech Republic)

Dapo Afolayan ( St. Pauli, Germany)

Ryan Alebiosu ( Blackburn Rovers, England)

Tochukwu Nnadi ( Zulte Waregem, Belgium)

Onuche Ogbelu ( Esperance, Tunisia)

Tebo Franklin (Crvena zvezda, Serbia )

Ebenezer Harcourt ( Sporting Lagos )

Captain of the senior national team of Nigeria William Troost-Ekong will likely not be a part of the team for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations next month according to one of the players in the team.

Ekong who has lost his starting spot to young defender Benjamin Fredrick was a bit part player at the recently concluded world cup qualifiers playoff, and after the defeat against DR Congo which cost them the ticket to represent Africa at the Intercontinental playoff he spoke with the players.

” It’s true that he made a speech in the dressing room after the game, where he said he will cheer us (team) as a fan. But he didn’t say he won’t be at the tournament and hasn’t said anything close to that since then”, a senior player in the team said.

” However he doesn’t seem to be happy with how the game against Dr Congo went and the decision of the coach before it got to penalty kicks. Maybe all of those affected him afterwards”, he sated.

He was however quick to shut down suggestions that the row over bonus, before the final game against Dr Congo played a role in the decision of the captain, with suggestions that he led the protest that made the team to boycott training.

” It’s in the media that I see a thing or two about a breakdown in relationship with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the strike. There is nothing like that where I was and if Ekong walks away from international football I don’t think it’s connected to that day”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman